


Prompto Argentum: The King's Knight

by star54kar



Series: All The King's Men [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Battle Scenes, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, M/M, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27094921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/star54kar/pseuds/star54kar
Summary: Eight years into the World of Ruin, Prompto is trapped with no hope of escape.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Series: All The King's Men [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977058
Comments: 10
Kudos: 32





	Prompto Argentum: The King's Knight

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday, Prompto!
> 
> This is the third story in a series of four vignettes that can stand on their own but will tell a deeper story when put all together. This series has been about year in the making and came about as a result of a conversation in my writing productivity group on discord. One of the ladies mentioned a challenge that they had taken part in a long time ago in a different fandom where they had to write a story with absolutely zero dialogue. The idea of the challenge intrigued me and the plot bunny for this series bit me almost immediately during our discussion, so I decided to give it a try.

Prompto missed the good old days of being able to predict what kinds of daemons would spawn in certain areas. Eight years ago, before the sun decided to run off on an extended vacation, the worst of his worries in this heavily wooded area would have been mandrakes and killer wasps. Now, with the spawning and spreading of daemons left unhindered by the interruption that the sunlight had once provided, Prompto never knew what kind of fresh hell awaited him every time he rounded a corner. He made his way into a small clearing in the center of the forest and groaned as he found himself facing down an army of fire bomb daemons. 

Without thinking, Prompto dodged out of the way of a fire attack and hit the ground hard as the bomb activated. The resulting explosion set off a chain reaction amongst most of the multiple bombs surrounding him. Too late, he realized the danger that this posed due to his current location. He could do nothing but watch in horror as flames rained down all around him. The long dead remains of the forest surrounding him ignited like paper, and the blaze wildly spread in every conceivable direction before Prompto could so much as blink. 

A handful of surviving bombs danced around gleefully in the wake of the fiery chaos, but Prompto paid them no mind. In the face of the fire surrounding him, finding a way to escape from the burning thicket was now his highest priority. Prompto struggled to his feet, hoping to spot a way out of the inferno. A quick survey of his surroundings revealed that the fire around him had spread for miles and was burning far too hot for him to try to make his way through safely. 

‘What a way to go,’ Prompto thought hysterically as he struggled to breathe through the thick layer of toxic smoke that had permeated the air. As he grew dizzy from the smoke inhalation, Prompto dodged another attack from the remaining bombs that lingered and dropped face down on the ground once more. Thankfully, the air was not as smokey down there, and the bombs did not pursue him, no longer registering him as a threat as he lay prone in the dirt. The heat from the raging and out of control fire grew steadily more intense. Prompto forced himself to take slow steady breaths as he tried his best to conserve the clean air that remained near the ground in the tiny clearing that he was trapped in. 

With no hope of escape at this point, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the brightly burning canopy. Prompto squinted against the overwhelmingly bright and flickering light that the fire generated. Despite everything, the sight of it was beautiful. Even through the thick smoke, it had been nearly a decade since the last time Prompto had seen that much light anywhere near the eternally black sky. Without even consciously thinking about it, Prompto pulled his camera out of his pocket and powered it on for the first time in years. The colors danced as they blazed, yellow, orange, and red with a hint of blue in places where the fire burned the hottest. Prompto lined up the shot to artfully display the contrasting colors of the fire against the inky black sky and took what he was certain would be his final picture. 

With trembling fingers, Prompto scrolled through images of much happier times, until he reached his favorite photo. He lost himself in a swell of emotion as he gazed at the image of Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio posing with Prompto in front of the newly repaired regalia, way back before their world had literally gone to hell. He stared at the picture for a long moment, then powered down his precious camera and put it safely into the Armiger. Prompto knew he wasn't going to get out of this alive, but at least the camera would be safe and the guys would be able to recover the memories.

Disparagingly, Prompto laughed as it suddenly dawned on him that he was about to die in a literal blaze of glory. He laughed deliriously until he began to choke. With the fire rapidly sucking out what remained of his precious oxygen, Prompto knew that the best he could hope for at this point was that he managed to pass out from asphyxiation before the flames burned him alive. There was no doubt in his mind that Prompto was about to die here, alone. He was both terrified and grateful that none of his friends were here to share in his fate. 

Struggling for breath, Prompto knew his time was running short and he clutched the chain of his dog tag close to his chest. He honestly didn’t know whether he should hope that his tags would eventually be recovered, or if it would be kinder for his partners if they never learned what had become of him. Either way, Prompto supposed it didn’t matter. Either way, he was going to die. 

Silently, he sent up a prayer to Lady Lunafreya and the Six that he would die before the fire reached him, hoping against all hope that he would be spared the certain agony that would come from burning to death. He closed his eyes to protect them from the stinging sensation caused by the heat and the dense, black smoke that permeated the air. Prompto choked on another smoke filled breath and pictured Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio in his mind's eye as clearly as one of his treasured photographs. A single tear escaped from one eye and trailed down Prompto’s cheek as he accepted the inevitable and came to peace with it. 

Without warning, the wet trail of the tear that had escaped froze solidly on his cheek. Prompto’s eyes shot open in surprise at the sensation. He tried to sit up but found he was frozen in place and that he couldn’t move so much as a muscle. Terrified and confused by this sudden change in temperature and his inability to move, Prompto sucked in a deep, surprisingly fresh breath of clean frosty air. It was almost as if his entire body had been tightly encased inside an invisible, form fitting, and ice cold barrier. A heartbeat later, an unmistakable explosion of ice magic erupted and spread outward from the barrier around him, destroying the remaining fire bombs and instantly extinguishing the raging inferno. 

Prompto slowly exhaled the breath that he didn’t realize he was holding. He still couldn’t move. His limbs were frozen in place as snow fell all around him, and yet, despite everything, he no longer felt cold.  From where he lay, prone on the ground, Prompto could see that he was still alone in the small clearing. An invisible but warm and solid weight suddenly draped over his body and his muscles tensed in fear. 

Prompto was scared, vulnerable, and unable to move, but the phantom didn’t harm him. Instead there was something oddly familiar about the convincingly real touch of a sword calloused palm cupping his cheek. As he lay there, unable to do anything else, Prompto felt the otherworldly sensation of gentle fingers as they trailed slowly and purposefully down the bare skin of his right arm until they reached his wrist. Prompto still couldn’t see anything, but he felt those fingers curl carefully around his wrist. The fingers held it in a light grip for a moment before he felt a thumb slowly slip beneath his worn leather wristband. He tensed and held his breath as he felt that questing thumb brush lightly over the concealed skin in an achingly tender caress of the barcode where it still lay safely hidden from unfriendly eyes.

Understanding finally rolled over Prompto in a sudden and emotional wave. Noctis was here with him. He couldn’t see him, he couldn’t hear him, but Prompto could  _ feel _ him. Deep down in the very core of his soul, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was Noctis. Somehow, in some way, from wherever the hell he was now, Noctis knew that Prompto was in trouble. Against all the odds Noct had found a way to save him. 

Grateful tears flooded his eyes at the realization and the heavy weight that had been pinning his body down abruptly lifted. Bereft at the sudden loss, Prompto found that he was once again able to move. He sat up in a daze and twisted his head around as he searched for any visible sign that his beloved king was still with him. Prompto still couldn’t see any trace of Noctis, so he closed his eyes. The ghost of a kiss brushed against his lips for the briefest moment before it was gone, leaving him alone in the snow filled remains of a burned forest, with nothing but his overwhelming emotions to keep him company. 

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: While I was writing this story, I was complaining to my husband about the fact that Prompto doesn’t have an official title like Gladio and Ignis do. Without hesitation he responded, “Prompto is the King’s Knight.” My eyes went wide, a new head canon instantly fell into place, and I knew that I was totally using that. So anyway, many thanks to my hubby for the idea for this title :)
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always welcome so please let me know if you enjoyed the story. :)


End file.
